Human ROBO1 Regulates Interaural Interaction in Auditory Pathways
- 1Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, FI-00076 AALTO, Espoo, Finland,
- 2Research Program's Unit, Molecular Medicine and Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, and Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland,
- 3Division of Child Neurology, Department of Gynecology and Pediatrics, Jorvi Hospital, University Central Hospital, FIN-00029 Espoo, Finland,
- 4Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Center for Biosciences, and Science for Life Laboratory, Karolinska Institutet, SE-14157 Stockholm, Sweden,
- 5Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, School of Science, Aalto University, FI-00076 AALTO, Espoo, Finland, and
- 6Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, FI-00029 Helsinki, Finland
-
Author contributions: S.L., S.M., J.N.-H., J.K., and R.H. designed research; S.L., S.M., and J.N.-H. performed research; S.L., S.M., J.K., and R.H. analyzed data; S.L., S.M., and R.H. wrote the paper.
-
↵*S.M and J.N.-H. contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
In rodents, the Robo1 gene regulates midline crossing of major nerve tracts, a fundamental property of the mammalian CNS. However, the neurodevelopmental function of the human ROBO1 gene remains unknown, apart from a suggested role in dyslexia. We therefore studied axonal crossing with a functional approach, based on magnetoencephalography, in 10 dyslexic individuals who all share the same rare, weakly expressing haplotype of the ROBO1 gene. Auditory-cortex responses were recorded separately to left- and right-ear sounds that were amplitude modulated at different frequencies. We found impaired interaural interaction that depended on the ROBO1 in a dose-dependent manner. Our results indicate that normal crossing of the auditory pathways requires an adequate ROBO1 expression level.
- Received August 4, 2011.
- Revision received November 17, 2011.
- Accepted November 23, 2011.
- Copyright © 2012 the authors 0270-6474/12/320966-06$15.00/0
